xref(3erl) Erlang Module Definition xref(3erl)
NAME
xref - A Cross Reference Tool for analyzing dependencies between func-
tions, modules, applications and releases.
DESCRIPTION
Xref is a cross reference tool that can be used for finding dependen-
cies between functions, modules, applications and releases.
Calls between functions are either local calls like f(), or external
calls like m:f(). Module data, which are extracted from BEAM files, in-
clude local functions, exported functions, local calls and external
calls. By default, calls to built-in functions (BIF) are ignored, but
if the option builtins, accepted by some of this module's functions, is
set to true, calls to BIFs are included as well. It is the analyzing
OTP version that decides what functions are BIFs. Functional objects
are assumed to be called where they are created (and nowhere else). Un-
resolved calls are calls to apply or spawn with variable module, vari-
able function, or variable arguments. Examples are M:F(a), apply(M, f,
[a]), and spawn(m, f(), Args). Unresolved calls are represented by
calls where variable modules have been replaced with the atom
'$M_EXPR', variable functions have been replaced with the atom
'$F_EXPR', and variable number of arguments have been replaced with the
number -1. The above mentioned examples are represented by calls to
'$M_EXPR':'$F_EXPR'/1, '$M_EXPR':f/1, and m:'$F_EXPR'/-1. The unre-
solved calls are a subset of the external calls.
Warning:
Unresolved calls make module data incomplete, which implies that the
results of analyses may be invalid.
Applications are collections of modules. The modules' BEAM files are
located in the ebin subdirectory of the application directory. The name
of the application directory determines the name and version of the ap-
plication. Releases are collections of applications located in the lib
subdirectory of the release directory. There is more to read about ap-
plications and releases in the Design Principles book.
Xref servers are identified by names, supplied when creating new
servers. Each Xref server holds a set of releases, a set of applica-
tions, and a set of modules with module data. Xref servers are indepen-
dent of each other, and all analyses are evaluated in the context of
one single Xref server (exceptions are the functions m/1 and d/1 which
do not use servers at all). The mode of an Xref server determines what
module data are extracted from BEAM files as modules are added to the
server. Starting with R7, BEAM files compiled with the option de-
bug_info contain so called debug information, which is an abstract rep-
resentation of the code. In functions mode, which is the default mode,
function calls and line numbers are extracted from debug information.
In modules mode, debug information is ignored if present, but dependen-
cies between modules are extracted from other parts of the BEAM files.
The modules mode is significantly less time and space consuming than
the functions mode, but the analyses that can be done are limited.
An analyzed module is a module that has been added to an Xref server
together with its module data. A library module is a module located in
some directory mentioned in the library path. A library module is said
to be used if some of its exported functions are used by some analyzed
module. An unknown module is a module that is neither an analyzed mod-
ule nor a library module, but whose exported functions are used by some
analyzed module. An unknown function is a used function that is neither
local or exported by any analyzed module nor exported by any library
module. An undefined function is an externally used function that is
not exported by any analyzed module or library module. With this no-
tion, a local function can be an undefined function, namely if it is
externally used from some module. All unknown functions are also unde-
fined functions; there is a figure in the User's Guide that illustrates
this relationship.
Starting with R9C, the module attribute tag deprecated can be used to
inform Xref about deprecated functions and optionally when functions
are planned to be removed. A few examples show the idea:
-deprecated({f,1}).:
The exported function f/1 is deprecated. Nothing is said whether
f/1 will be removed or not.
-deprecated({f,1,"Use g/1 instead"}).:
As above but with a descriptive string. The string is currently un-
used by xref but other tools can make use of it.
-deprecated({f,'_'}).:
All exported functions f/0, f/1 and so on are deprecated.
-deprecated(module).:
All exported functions in the module are deprecated. Equivalent to
-deprecated({'_','_'})..
-deprecated([{g,1,next_version}]).:
The function g/1 is deprecated and will be removed in next version.
-deprecated([{g,2,next_major_release}]).:
The function g/2 is deprecated and will be removed in next major
release.
-deprecated([{g,3,eventually}]).:
The function g/3 is deprecated and will eventually be removed.
-deprecated({'_','_',eventually}).:
All exported functions in the module are deprecated and will even-
tually be removed.
Before any analysis can take place, module data must be set up. For in-
stance, the cross reference and the unknown functions are computed when
all module data are known. The functions that need complete data (ana-
lyze, q, variables) take care of setting up data automatically. Module
data need to be set up (again) after calls to any of the add, replace,
remove, set_library_path or update functions.
The result of setting up module data is the Call Graph. A (directed)
graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of (directed) edges. The
edges represent calls (From, To) between functions, modules, applica-
tions or releases. From is said to call To, and To is said to be used
by From. The vertices of the Call Graph are the functions of all module
data: local and exported functions of analyzed modules; used BIFs; used
exported functions of library modules; and unknown functions. The func-
tions module_info/0,1 added by the compiler are included among the ex-
ported functions, but only when called from some module. The edges are
the function calls of all module data. A consequence of the edges being
a set is that there is only one edge if a function is locally or exter-
nally used several times on one and the same line of code.
The Call Graph is represented by Erlang terms (the sets are lists),
which is suitable for many analyses. But for analyses that look at
chains of calls, a list representation is much too slow. Instead the
representation offered by the digraph module is used. The translation
of the list representation of the Call Graph - or a subgraph thereof -
to the digraph representation does not come for free, so the language
used for expressing queries to be described below has a special opera-
tor for this task and a possibility to save the digraph representation
for subsequent analyses.
In addition to the Call Graph there is a graph called the Inter Call
Graph. This is a graph of calls (From, To) such that there is a chain
of calls from From to To in the Call Graph, and every From and To is an
exported function or an unused local function. The vertices are the
same as for the Call Graph.
Calls between modules, applications and releases are also directed
graphs. The types of the vertices and edges of these graphs are (rang-
ing from the most special to the most general): Fun for functions; Mod
for modules; App for applications; and Rel for releases. The following
paragraphs will describe the different constructs of the language used
for selecting and analyzing parts of the graphs, beginning with the
constants:
* Expression ::= Constants
* Constants ::= Consts | Consts : Type | RegExpr
* Consts ::= Constant | [Constant, ...] | {Constant, ...}
* Constant ::= Call | Const
* Call ::= FunSpec -> FunSpec | {MFA, MFA} | AtomConst -> AtomConst |
{AtomConst, AtomConst}
* Const ::= AtomConst | FunSpec | MFA
* AtomConst ::= Application | Module | Release
* FunSpec ::= Module : Function / Arity
* MFA ::= {Module, Function, Arity}
* RegExpr ::= RegString : Type | RegFunc | RegFunc : Type
* RegFunc ::= RegModule : RegFunction / RegArity
* RegModule ::= RegAtom
* RegFunction ::= RegAtom
* RegArity ::= RegString | Number | _ | -1
* RegAtom ::= RegString | Atom | _
* RegString ::= - a regular expression, as described in the re mod-
ule, enclosed in double quotes -
* Type ::= Fun | Mod | App | Rel
* Function ::= Atom
* Application ::= Atom
* Module ::= Atom
* Release ::= Atom
* Arity ::= Number | -1
* Atom ::= - same as Erlang atoms -
* Number ::= - same as non-negative Erlang integers -
Examples of constants are: kernel, kernel->stdlib, [kernel, sasl], [pg
-> mnesia, {tv, mnesia}] : Mod. It is an error if an instance of Const
does not match any vertex of any graph. If there are more than one ver-
tex matching an untyped instance of AtomConst, then the one of the most
general type is chosen. A list of constants is interpreted as a set of
constants, all of the same type. A tuple of constants constitute a
chain of calls (which may, but does not have to, correspond to an ac-
tual chain of calls of some graph). Assigning a type to a list or tuple
of Constant is equivalent to assigning the type to each Constant.
Regular expressions are used as a means to select some of the vertices
of a graph. A RegExpr consisting of a RegString and a type - an example
is "xref_.*" : Mod - is interpreted as those modules (or applications
or releases, depending on the type) that match the expression. Simi-
larly, a RegFunc is interpreted as those vertices of the Call Graph
that match the expression. An example is "xref_.*":"add_.*"/"(2|3)",
which matches all add functions of arity two or three of any of the
xref modules. Another example, one that matches all functions of arity
10 or more: _:_/"[1-9].+". Here _ is an abbreviation for ".*", that is,
the regular expression that matches anything.
The syntax of variables is simple:
* Expression ::= Variable
* Variable ::= - same as Erlang variables -
There are two kinds of variables: predefined variables and user vari-
ables. Predefined variables hold set up module data, and cannot be as-
signed to but only used in queries. User variables on the other hand
can be assigned to, and are typically used for temporary results while
evaluating a query, and for keeping results of queries for use in sub-
sequent queries. The predefined variables are (variables marked with
(*) are available in functions mode only):
E:
Call Graph Edges (*).
V:
Call Graph Vertices (*).
M:
Modules. All modules: analyzed modules, used library modules, and
unknown modules.
A:
Applications.
R:
Releases.
ME:
Module Edges. All module calls.
AE:
Application Edges. All application calls.
RE:
Release Edges. All release calls.
L:
Local Functions (*). All local functions of analyzed modules.
X:
Exported Functions. All exported functions of analyzed modules and
all used exported functions of library modules.
F:
Functions (*).
B:
Used BIFs. B is empty if builtins is false for all analyzed mod-
ules.
U:
Unknown Functions.
UU:
Unused Functions (*). All local and exported functions of analyzed
modules that have not been used.
XU:
Externally Used Functions. Functions of all modules - including lo-
cal functions - that have been used in some external call.
LU:
Locally Used Functions (*). Functions of all modules that have been
used in some local call.
OL:
Functions with an attribute tag on_load (*).
LC:
Local Calls (*).
XC:
External Calls (*).
AM:
Analyzed Modules.
UM:
Unknown Modules.
LM:
Used Library Modules.
UC:
Unresolved Calls. Empty in modules mode.
EE:
Inter Call Graph Edges (*).
DF:
Deprecated Functions. All deprecated exported functions and all
used deprecated BIFs.
DF_1:
Deprecated Functions. All deprecated functions to be removed in
next version.
DF_2:
Deprecated Functions. All deprecated functions to be removed in
next version or next major release.
DF_3:
Deprecated Functions. All deprecated functions to be removed in
next version, next major release, or later.
These are a few facts about the predefined variables (the set operators
+ (union) and - (difference) as well as the cast operator (Type) are
described below):
* F is equal to L + X.
* V is equal to X + L + B + U, where X, L, B and U are pairwise dis-
joint (that is, have no elements in common).
* UU is equal to V - (XU + LU), where LU and XU may have elements in
common. Put in another way:
* V is equal to UU + XU + LU.
* OL is a subset of F.
* E is equal to LC + XC. Note that LC and XC may have elements in
common, namely if some function is locally and externally used from
one and the same function.
* U is a subset of XU.
* B is a subset of XU.
* LU is equal to range LC.
* XU is equal to range XC.
* LU is a subset of F.
* UU is a subset of F.
* range UC is a subset of U.
* M is equal to AM + LM + UM, where AM, LM and UM are pairwise dis-
joint.
* ME is equal to (Mod) E.
* AE is equal to (App) E.
* RE is equal to (Rel) E.
* (Mod) V is a subset of M. Equality holds if all analyzed modules
have some local, exported, or unknown function.
* (App) M is a subset of A. Equality holds if all applications have
some module.
* (Rel) A is a subset of R. Equality holds if all releases have some
application.
* DF_1 is a subset of DF_2.
* DF_2 is a subset of DF_3.
* DF_3 is a subset of DF.
* DF is a subset of X + B.
An important notion is that of conversion of expressions. The syntax of
a cast expression is:
* Expression ::= ( Type ) Expression
The interpretation of the cast operator depends on the named type Type,
the type of Expression, and the structure of the elements of the inter-
pretation of Expression. If the named type is equal to the expression
type, no conversion is done. Otherwise, the conversion is done one step
at a time; (Fun) (App) RE, for instance, is equivalent to (Fun) (Mod)
(App) RE. Now assume that the interpretation of Expression is a set of
constants (functions, modules, applications or releases). If the named
type is more general than the expression type, say Mod and Fun respec-
tively, then the interpretation of the cast expression is the set of
modules that have at least one of their functions mentioned in the in-
terpretation of the expression. If the named type is more special than
the expression type, say Fun and Mod, then the interpretation is the
set of all the functions of the modules (in modules mode, the conver-
sion is partial since the local functions are not known). The conver-
sions to and from applications and releases work analogously. For in-
stance, (App) "xref_.*" : Mod returns all applications containing at
least one module such that xref_ is a prefix of the module name.
Now assume that the interpretation of Expression is a set of calls. If
the named type is more general than the expression type, say Mod and
Fun respectively, then the interpretation of the cast expression is the
set of calls (M1, M2) such that the interpretation of the expression
contains a call from some function of M1 to some function of M2. If the
named type is more special than the expression type, say Fun and Mod,
then the interpretation is the set of all function calls (F1, F2) such
that the interpretation of the expression contains a call (M1, M2) and
F1 is a function of M1 and F2 is a function of M2 (in modules mode,
there are no functions calls, so a cast to Fun always yields an empty
set). Again, the conversions to and from applications and releases work
analogously.
The interpretation of constants and variables are sets, and those sets
can be used as the basis for forming new sets by the application of set
operators. The syntax:
* Expression ::= Expression BinarySetOp Expression
* BinarySetOp ::= + | * | -
+, * and - are interpreted as union, intersection and difference re-
spectively: the union of two sets contains the elements of both sets;
the intersection of two sets contains the elements common to both sets;
and the difference of two sets contains the elements of the first set
that are not members of the second set. The elements of the two sets
must be of the same structure; for instance, a function call cannot be
combined with a function. But if a cast operator can make the elements
compatible, then the more general elements are converted to the less
general element type. For instance, M + F is equivalent to (Fun) M + F,
and E - AE is equivalent to E - (Fun) AE. One more example: X * xref :
Mod is interpreted as the set of functions exported by the module xref;
xref : Mod is converted to the more special type of X (Fun, that is)
yielding all functions of xref, and the intersection with X (all func-
tions exported by analyzed modules and library modules) is interpreted
as those functions that are exported by some module and functions of
xref.
There are also unary set operators:
* Expression ::= UnarySetOp Expression
* UnarySetOp ::= domain | range | strict
Recall that a call is a pair (From, To). domain applied to a set of
calls is interpreted as the set of all vertices From, and range as the
set of all vertices To. The interpretation of the strict operator is
the operand with all calls on the form (A, A) removed.
The interpretation of the restriction operators is a subset of the
first operand, a set of calls. The second operand, a set of vertices,
is converted to the type of the first operand. The syntax of the re-
striction operators:
* Expression ::= Expression RestrOp Expression
* RestrOp ::= |
* RestrOp ::= ||
* RestrOp ::= |||
The interpretation in some detail for the three operators:
|:
The subset of calls from any of the vertices.
||:
The subset of calls to any of the vertices.
|||:
The subset of calls to and from any of the vertices. For all sets
of calls CS and all sets of vertices VS, CS ||| VS is equivalent
to CS | VS * CS || VS.
Two functions (modules, applications, releases) belong to the same
strongly connected component if they call each other (in)directly. The
interpretation of the components operator is the set of strongly con-
nected components of a set of calls. The condensation of a set of calls
is a new set of calls between the strongly connected components such
that there is an edge between two components if there is some constant
of the first component that calls some constant of the second compo-
nent.
The interpretation of the of operator is a chain of calls of the second
operand (a set of calls) that passes throw all of the vertices of the
first operand (a tuple of constants), in the given order. The second
operand is converted to the type of the first operand. For instance,
the of operator can be used for finding out whether a function calls
another function indirectly, and the chain of calls demonstrates how.
The syntax of the graph analyzing operators:
* Expression ::= Expression BinaryGraphOp Expression
* Expression ::= UnaryGraphOp Expression
* UnaryGraphOp ::= components | condensation
* BinaryGraphOp ::= of
As was mentioned before, the graph analyses operate on the digraph rep-
resentation of graphs. By default, the digraph representation is cre-
ated when needed (and deleted when no longer used), but it can also be
created explicitly by use of the closure operator:
* Expression ::= ClosureOp Expression
* ClosureOp ::= closure
The interpretation of the closure operator is the transitive closure of
the operand.
The restriction operators are defined for closures as well; closure E |
xref : Mod is interpreted as the direct or indirect function calls from
the xref module, while the interpretation of E | xref : Mod is the set
of direct calls from xref. If some graph is to be used in several graph
analyses, it saves time to assign the digraph representation of the
graph to a user variable, and then make sure that every graph analysis
operates on that variable instead of the list representation of the
graph.
The lines where functions are defined (more precisely: where the first
clause begins) and the lines where functions are used are available in
functions mode. The line numbers refer to the files where the functions
are defined. This holds also for files included with the -include and
-include_lib directives, which may result in functions defined appar-
ently in the same line. The line operators are used for assigning line
numbers to functions and for assigning sets of line numbers to function
calls. The syntax is similar to the one of the cast operator:
* Expression ::= ( LineOp) Expression
* Expression ::= ( XLineOp) Expression
* LineOp ::= Lin | ELin | LLin | XLin
* XLineOp ::= XXL
The interpretation of the Lin operator applied to a set of functions
assigns to each function the line number where the function is defined.
Unknown functions and functions of library modules are assigned the
number 0.
The interpretation of some LineOp operator applied to a set of function
calls assigns to each call the set of line numbers where the first
function calls the second function. Not all calls are assigned line
numbers by all operators:
* the Lin operator is defined for Call Graph Edges;
* the LLin operator is defined for Local Calls.
* the XLin operator is defined for External Calls.
* the ELin operator is defined for Inter Call Graph Edges.
The Lin (LLin, XLin) operator assigns the lines where calls (local
calls, external calls) are made. The ELin operator assigns to each call
(From, To), for which it is defined, every line L such that there is a
chain of calls from From to To beginning with a call on line L.
The XXL operator is defined for the interpretation of any of the LineOp
operators applied to a set of function calls. The result is that of re-
placing the function call with a line numbered function call, that is,
each of the two functions of the call is replaced by a pair of the
function and the line where the function is defined. The effect of the
XXL operator can be undone by the LineOp operators. For instance, (Lin)
(XXL) (Lin) E is equivalent to (Lin) E.
The +, -, * and # operators are defined for line number expressions,
provided the operands are compatible. The LineOp operators are also de-
fined for modules, applications, and releases; the operand is implic-
itly converted to functions. Similarly, the cast operator is defined
for the interpretation of the LineOp operators.
The interpretation of the counting operator is the number of elements
of a set. The operator is undefined for closures. The +, - and * opera-
tors are interpreted as the obvious arithmetical operators when applied
to numbers. The syntax of the counting operator:
* Expression ::= CountOp Expression
* CountOp ::= #
All binary operators are left associative; for instance, A | B || C is
equivalent to (A | B) || C. The following is a list of all operators,
in increasing order of precedence:
* +, -
* *
* #
* |, ||, |||
* of
* (Type)
* closure, components, condensation, domain, range, strict
Parentheses are used for grouping, either to make an expression more
readable or to override the default precedence of operators:
* Expression ::= ( Expression )
A query is a non-empty sequence of statements. A statement is either an
assignment of a user variable or an expression. The value of an assign-
ment is the value of the right hand side expression. It makes no sense
to put a plain expression anywhere else but last in queries. The syntax
of queries is summarized by these productions:
* Query ::= Statement, ...
* Statement ::= Assignment | Expression
* Assignment ::= Variable := Expression | Variable = Expression
A variable cannot be assigned a new value unless first removed. Vari-
ables assigned to by the = operator are removed at the end of the
query, while variables assigned to by the := operator can only be re-
moved by calls to forget. There are no user variables when module data
need to be set up again; if any of the functions that make it necessary
to set up module data again is called, all user variables are forgot-
ten.
Types
application() = atom()
arity() = int() | -1
bool() = true | false
call() = {atom(), atom()} | funcall()
constant() = mfa() | module() | application() | release()
directory() = string()
file() = string()
funcall() = {mfa(), mfa()}
function() = atom()
int() = integer() >= 0
library() = atom()
library_path() = path() | code_path
mfa() = {module(), function(), arity()}
mode() = functions | modules
module() = atom()
release() = atom()
string_position() = int() | at_end
variable() = atom()
xref() = atom() | pid()
EXPORTS
add_application(Xref, Directory [, Options]) -> {ok, application()} |
Error
Types:
Directory = directory()
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {builtins, bool()} | {name, application()} | {ver-
bose, bool()} | {warnings, bool()}
Reason = {application_clash, {application(), directory(), di-
rectory()}} | {file_error, file(), error()} | {invalid_file-
name, term()} | {invalid_options, term()} | - see also
add_directory -
Xref = xref()
Adds an application, the modules of the application and module
data of the modules to an Xref server. The modules will be mem-
bers of the application. The default is to use the base name of
the directory with the version removed as application name, but
this can be overridden by the name option. Returns the name of
the application.
If the given directory has a subdirectory named ebin, modules
(BEAM files) are searched for in that directory, otherwise mod-
ules are searched for in the given directory.
If the mode of the Xref server is functions, BEAM files that
contain no debug information are ignored.
add_directory(Xref, Directory [, Options]) -> {ok, Modules} | Error
Types:
Directory = directory()
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Modules = [module()]
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {builtins, bool()} | {recurse, bool()} | {verbose,
bool()} | {warnings, bool()}
Reason = {file_error, file(), error()} | {invalid_filename,
term()} | {invalid_options, term()} | {unrecognized_file,
file()} | - error from beam_lib:chunks/2 -
Xref = xref()
Adds the modules found in the given directory and the modules'
data to an Xref server. The default is not to examine subdirec-
tories, but if the option recurse has the value true, modules
are searched for in subdirectories on all levels as well as in
the given directory. Returns a sorted list of the names of the
added modules.
The modules added will not be members of any applications.
If the mode of the Xref server is functions, BEAM files that
contain no debug information are ignored.
add_module(Xref, File [, Options]) -> {ok, module()} | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
File = file()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {builtins, bool()} | {verbose, bool()} | {warnings,
bool()}
Reason = {file_error, file(), error()} | {invalid_filename,
term()} | {invalid_options, term()} | {module_clash, {mod-
ule(), file(), file()}} | {no_debug_info, file()} | - error
from beam_lib:chunks/2 -
Xref = xref()
Adds a module and its module data to an Xref server. The module
will not be member of any application. Returns the name of the
module.
If the mode of the Xref server is functions, and the BEAM file
contains no debug information, the error message no_debug_info
is returned.
add_release(Xref, Directory [, Options]) -> {ok, release()} | Error
Types:
Directory = directory()
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {builtins, bool()} | {name, release()} | {verbose,
bool()} | {warnings, bool()}
Reason = {application_clash, {application(), directory(), di-
rectory()}} | {file_error, file(), error()} | {invalid_file-
name, term()} | {invalid_options, term()} | {release_clash,
{release(), directory(), directory()}} | - see also add_di-
rectory -
Xref = xref()
Adds a release, the applications of the release, the modules of
the applications, and module data of the modules to an Xref
server. The applications will be members of the release, and the
modules will be members of the applications. The default is to
use the base name of the directory as release name, but this can
be overridden by the name option. Returns the name of the re-
lease.
If the given directory has a subdirectory named lib, the direc-
tories in that directory are assumed to be application directo-
ries, otherwise all subdirectories of the given directory are
assumed to be application directories. If there are several ver-
sions of some application, the one with the highest version is
chosen.
If the mode of the Xref server is functions, BEAM files that
contain no debug information are ignored.
analyze(Xref, Analysis [, Options]) -> {ok, Answer} | Error
Types:
Analysis = undefined_function_calls | undefined_functions |
locals_not_used | exports_not_used | deprecated_func-
tion_calls | {deprecated_function_calls, DeprFlag} | depre-
cated_functions | {deprecated_functions, DeprFlag} | {call,
FuncSpec} | {use, FuncSpec} | {module_call, ModSpec} | {mod-
ule_use, ModSpec} | {application_call, AppSpec} | {applica-
tion_use, AppSpec} | {release_call, RelSpec} | {release_use,
RelSpec}
Answer = [term()]
AppSpec = application() | [application()]
DeprFlag = next_version | next_major_release | eventually
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
FuncSpec = mfa() | [mfa()]
ModSpec = module() | [module()]
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {verbose, bool()}
RelSpec = release() | [release()]
Reason = {invalid_options, term()} | {parse_error, string_po-
sition(), term()} | {unavailable_analysis, term()} | {un-
known_analysis, term()} | {unknown_constant, string()} | {un-
known_variable, variable()}
Xref = xref()
Evaluates a predefined analysis. Returns a sorted list without
duplicates of call() or constant(), depending on the chosen
analysis. The predefined analyses, which operate on all analyzed
modules, are (analyses marked with (*) are available in func-
tionsmode only):
undefined_function_calls(*):
Returns a list of calls to undefined functions.
undefined_functions:
Returns a list of undefined functions.
locals_not_used(*):
Returns a list of local functions that have not been locally
used.
exports_not_used:
Returns a list of exported functions that have not been ex-
ternally used.
deprecated_function_calls(*):
Returns a list of external calls to deprecated functions.
{deprecated_function_calls, DeprFlag}(*):
Returns a list of external calls to deprecated functions. If
DeprFlag is equal to next_version, calls to functions to be
removed in next version are returned. If DeprFlag is equal
to next_major_release, calls to functions to be removed in
next major release are returned as well as calls to func-
tions to be removed in next version. Finally, if DeprFlag is
equal to eventually, all calls to functions to be removed
are returned, including calls to functions to be removed in
next version or next major release.
deprecated_functions:
Returns a list of externally used deprecated functions.
{deprecated_functions, DeprFlag}:
Returns a list of externally used deprecated functions. If
DeprFlag is equal to next_version, functions to be removed
in next version are returned. If DeprFlag is equal to
next_major_release, functions to be removed in next major
release are returned as well as functions to be removed in
next version. Finally, if DeprFlag is equal to eventually,
all functions to be removed are returned, including func-
tions to be removed in next version or next major release.
{call, FuncSpec}(*):
Returns a list of functions called by some of the given
functions.
{use, FuncSpec}(*):
Returns a list of functions that use some of the given func-
tions.
{module_call, ModSpec}:
Returns a list of modules called by some of the given mod-
ules.
{module_use, ModSpec}:
Returns a list of modules that use some of the given mod-
ules.
{application_call, AppSpec}:
Returns a list of applications called by some of the given
applications.
{application_use, AppSpec}:
Returns a list of applications that use some of the given
applications.
{release_call, RelSpec}:
Returns a list of releases called by some of the given re-
leases.
{release_use, RelSpec}:
Returns a list of releases that use some of the given re-
leases.
d(Directory) -> [DebugInfoResult] | [NoDebugInfoResult] | Error
Types:
Directory = directory()
DebugInfoResult = {deprecated, [funcall()]} | {undefined,
[funcall()]} | {unused, [mfa()]}
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
NoDebugInfoResult = {deprecated, [mfa()]} | {undefined,
[mfa()]}
Reason = {file_error, file(), error()} | {invalid_filename,
term()} | {unrecognized_file, file()} | - error from
beam_lib:chunks/2 -
The modules found in the given directory are checked for calls
to deprecated functions, calls to undefined functions, and for
unused local functions. The code path is used as library path.
If some of the found BEAM files contain debug information, then
those modules are checked and a list of tuples is returned. The
first element of each tuple is one of:
* deprecated, the second element is a sorted list of calls to
deprecated functions;
* undefined, the second element is a sorted list of calls to
undefined functions;
* unused, the second element is a sorted list of unused local
functions.
If no BEAM file contains debug information, then a list of tu-
ples is returned. The first element of each tuple is one of:
* deprecated, the second element is a sorted list of exter-
nally used deprecated functions;
* undefined, the second element is a sorted list of undefined
functions.
forget(Xref) -> ok
forget(Xref, Variables) -> ok | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Reason = {not_user_variable, term()}
Variables = [variable()] | variable()
Xref = xref()
forget/1 and forget/2 remove all or some of the user variables
of an xref server.
format_error(Error) -> Chars
Types:
Error = {error, module(), term()}
Chars = [char() | Chars]
Given the error returned by any function of this module, the
function format_error returns a descriptive string of the error
in English. For file errors, the function format_error/1 in the
file module is called.
get_default(Xref) -> [{Option, Value}]
get_default(Xref, Option) -> {ok, Value} | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Option = builtins | recurse | verbose | warnings
Reason = {invalid_options, term()}
Value = bool()
Xref = xref()
Returns the default values of one or more options.
get_library_path(Xref) -> {ok, LibraryPath}
Types:
LibraryPath = library_path()
Xref = xref()
Returns the library path.
info(Xref) -> [Info]
info(Xref, Category) -> [{Item, [Info]}]
info(Xref, Category, Items) -> [{Item, [Info]}]
Types:
Application = [] | [application()]
Category = modules | applications | releases | libraries
Info = {application, Application} | {builtins, bool()} | {di-
rectory, directory()} | {library_path, library_path()} |
{mode, mode()} | {no_analyzed_modules, int()} | {no_applica-
tions, int()} | {no_calls, {NoResolved, NoUnresolved}} |
{no_function_calls, {NoLocal, NoResolvedExternal, NoUnre-
solved}} | {no_functions, {NoLocal, NoExternal}} | {no_in-
ter_function_calls, int()} | {no_releases, int()} | {release,
Release} | {version, Version}
Item = module() | application() | release() | library()
Items = Item | [Item]
NoLocal = NoExternal = NoResolvedExternal, NoResolved = NoUn-
resolved = int()
Release = [] | [release()]
Version = [int()]
Xref = xref()
The info functions return information as a list of pairs {Tag,
term()} in some order about the state and the module data of an
Xref server.
info/1 returns information with the following tags (tags marked
with (*) are available in functions mode only):
* library_path, the library path;
* mode, the mode;
* no_releases, number of releases;
* no_applications, total number of applications (of all re-
leases);
* no_analyzed_modules, total number of analyzed modules;
* no_calls (*), total number of calls (in all modules), re-
garding instances of one function call in different lines as
separate calls;
* no_function_calls (*), total number of local calls, resolved
external calls and unresolved calls;
* no_functions (*), total number of local and exported func-
tions;
* no_inter_function_calls (*), total number of calls of the
Inter Call Graph.
info/2 and info/3 return information about all or some of the
analyzed modules, applications, releases or library modules of
an Xref server. The following information is returned for every
analyzed module:
* application, an empty list if the module does not belong to
any application, otherwise a list of the application name;
* builtins, whether calls to BIFs are included in the module's
data;
* directory, the directory where the module's BEAM file is lo-
cated;
* no_calls (*), number of calls, regarding instances of one
function call in different lines as separate calls;
* no_function_calls (*), number of local calls, resolved ex-
ternal calls and unresolved calls;
* no_functions (*), number of local and exported functions;
* no_inter_function_calls (*), number of calls of the Inter
Call Graph;
The following information is returned for every application:
* directory, the directory where the modules' BEAM files are
located;
* no_analyzed_modules, number of analyzed modules;
* no_calls (*), number of calls of the application's modules,
regarding instances of one function call in different lines
as separate calls;
* no_function_calls (*), number of local calls, resolved ex-
ternal calls and unresolved calls of the application's mod-
ules;
* no_functions (*), number of local and exported functions of
the application's modules;
* no_inter_function_calls (*), number of calls of the Inter
Call Graph of the application's modules;
* release, an empty list if the application does not belong to
any release, otherwise a list of the release name;
* version, the application's version as a list of numbers. For
instance, the directory "kernel-2.6" results in the applica-
tion name kernel and the application version [2,6]; "kernel"
yields the name kernel and the version [].
The following information is returned for every release:
* directory, the release directory;
* no_analyzed_modules, number of analyzed modules;
* no_applications, number of applications;
* no_calls (*), number of calls of the release's modules, re-
garding instances of one function call in different lines as
separate calls;
* no_function_calls (*), number of local calls, resolved ex-
ternal calls and unresolved calls of the release's modules;
* no_functions (*), number of local and exported functions of
the release's modules;
* no_inter_function_calls (*), number of calls of the Inter
Call Graph of the release's modules.
The following information is returned for every library module:
* directory, the directory where the library module's BEAM
file is located.
For every number of calls, functions etc. returned by the no_
tags, there is a query returning the same number. Listed below
are examples of such queries. Some of the queries return the sum
of a two or more of the no_ tags numbers. mod (app, rel) refers
to any module (application, release).
* no_analyzed_modules
* "# AM" (info/1)
* "# (Mod) app:App" (application)
* "# (Mod) rel:Rel" (release)
* no_applications
* "# A" (info/1)
* no_calls. The sum of the number of resolved and unresolved
calls:
* "# (XLin) E + # (LLin) E" (info/1)
* "T = E | mod:Mod, # (LLin) T + # (XLin) T" (module)
* "T = E | app:App, # (LLin) T + # (XLin) T" (application)
* "T = E | rel:Rel, # (LLin) T + # (XLin) T" (release)
* no_functions. Functions in library modules and the functions
module_info/0,1 are not counted by info. Assuming that "Ex-
tra := _:module_info/\"(0|1)\" + LM" has been evaluated, the
sum of the number of local and exported functions are:
* "# (F - Extra)" (info/1)
* "# (F * mod:Mod - Extra)" (module)
* "# (F * app:App - Extra)" (application)
* "# (F * rel:Rel - Extra)" (release)
* no_function_calls. The sum of the number of local calls, re-
solved external calls and unresolved calls:
* "# LC + # XC" (info/1)
* "# LC | mod:Mod + # XC | mod:Mod" (module)
* "# LC | app:App + # XC | app:App" (application)
* "# LC | rel:Rel + # XC | mod:Rel" (release)
* no_inter_function_calls
* "# EE" (info/1)
* "# EE | mod:Mod" (module)
* "# EE | app:App" (application)
* "# EE | rel:Rel" (release)
* no_releases
* "# R" (info/1)
m(Module) -> [DebugInfoResult] | [NoDebugInfoResult] | Error
m(File) -> [DebugInfoResult] | [NoDebugInfoResult] | Error
Types:
DebugInfoResult = {deprecated, [funcall()]} | {undefined,
[funcall()]} | {unused, [mfa()]}
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
File = file()
Module = module()
NoDebugInfoResult = {deprecated, [mfa()]} | {undefined,
[mfa()]}
Reason = {file_error, file(), error()} | {interpreted, mod-
ule()} | {invalid_filename, term()} | {cover_compiled, mod-
ule()} | {no_such_module, module()} | - error from
beam_lib:chunks/2 -
The given BEAM file (with or without the .beam extension) or the
file found by calling code:which(Module) is checked for calls to
deprecated functions, calls to undefined functions, and for un-
used local functions. The code path is used as library path.
If the BEAM file contains debug information, then a list of tu-
ples is returned. The first element of each tuple is one of:
* deprecated, the second element is a sorted list of calls to
deprecated functions;
* undefined, the second element is a sorted list of calls to
undefined functions;
* unused, the second element is a sorted list of unused local
functions.
If the BEAM file does not contain debug information, then a list
of tuples is returned. The first element of each tuple is one
of:
* deprecated, the second element is a sorted list of exter-
nally used deprecated functions;
* undefined, the second element is a sorted list of undefined
functions.
q(Xref, Query [, Options]) -> {ok, Answer} | Error
Types:
Answer = false | [constant()] | [Call] | [Component] | int()
| [DefineAt] | [CallAt] | [AllLines]
Call = call() | ComponentCall
ComponentCall = {Component, Component}
Component = [constant()]
DefineAt = {mfa(), LineNumber}
CallAt = {funcall(), LineNumbers}
AllLines = {{DefineAt, DefineAt}, LineNumbers}
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
LineNumbers = [LineNumber]
LineNumber = int()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {verbose, bool()}
Query = string() | atom()
Reason = {invalid_options, term()} | {parse_error, string_po-
sition(), term()} | {type_error, string()} | {type_mismatch,
string(), string()} | {unknown_analysis, term()} | {un-
known_constant, string()} | {unknown_variable, variable()} |
{variable_reassigned, string()}
Xref = xref()
Evaluates a query in the context of an Xref server, and returns
the value of the last statement. The syntax of the value depends
on the expression:
* A set of calls is represented by a sorted list without du-
plicates of call().
* A set of constants is represented by a sorted list without
duplicates of constant().
* A set of strongly connected components is a sorted list
without duplicates of Component.
* A set of calls between strongly connected components is a
sorted list without duplicates of ComponentCall.
* A chain of calls is represented by a list of constant(). The
list contains the From vertex of every call and the To ver-
tex of the last call.
* The of operator returns false if no chain of calls between
the given constants can be found.
* The value of the closure operator (the digraph representa-
tion) is represented by the atom 'closure()'.
* A set of line numbered functions is represented by a sorted
list without duplicates of DefineAt.
* A set of line numbered function calls is represented by a
sorted list without duplicates of CallAt.
* A set of line numbered functions and function calls is rep-
resented by a sorted list without duplicates of AllLines.
For both CallAt and AllLines it holds that for no list element
is LineNumbers an empty list; such elements have been removed.
The constants of component and the integers of LineNumbers are
sorted and without duplicates.
remove_application(Xref, Applications) -> ok | Error
Types:
Applications = application() | [application()]
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Reason = {no_such_application, application()}
Xref = xref()
Removes applications and their modules and module data from an
Xref server.
remove_module(Xref, Modules) -> ok | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Modules = module() | [module()]
Reason = {no_such_module, module()}
Xref = xref()
Removes analyzed modules and module data from an Xref server.
remove_release(Xref, Releases) -> ok | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Reason = {no_such_release, release()}
Releases = release() | [release()]
Xref = xref()
Removes releases and their applications, modules and module data
from an Xref server.
replace_application(Xref, Application, Directory [, Options]) -> {ok,
application()} | Error
Types:
Application = application()
Directory = directory()
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {builtins, bool()} | {verbose, bool()} | {warnings,
bool()}
Reason = {no_such_application, application()} | - see also
add_application -
Xref = xref()
Replaces the modules of an application with other modules read
from an application directory. Release membership of the appli-
cation is retained. Note that the name of the application is
kept; the name of the given directory is not used.
replace_module(Xref, Module, File [, Options]) -> {ok, module()} | Er-
ror
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
File = file()
Module = module()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {verbose, bool()} | {warnings, bool()}
ReadModule = module()
Reason = {module_mismatch, module(), ReadModule} |
{no_such_module, module()} | - see also add_module -
Xref = xref()
Replaces module data of an analyzed module with data read from a
BEAM file. Application membership of the module is retained, and
so is the value of the builtins option of the module. An error
is returned if the name of the read module differs from the
given module.
The update function is an alternative for updating module data
of recompiled modules.
set_default(Xref, Option, Value) -> {ok, OldValue} | Error
set_default(Xref, OptionValues) -> ok | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
OptionValues = [OptionValue] | OptionValue
OptionValue = {Option, Value}
Option = builtins | recurse | verbose | warnings
Reason = {invalid_options, term()}
Value = bool()
Xref = xref()
Sets the default value of one or more options. The options that
can be set this way are:
* builtins, with initial default value false;
* recurse, with initial default value false;
* verbose, with initial default value false;
* warnings, with initial default value true.
The initial default values are set when creating an Xref server.
set_library_path(Xref, LibraryPath [, Options]) -> ok | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
LibraryPath = library_path()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {verbose, bool()}
Reason = {invalid_options, term()} | {invalid_path, term()}
Xref = xref()
Sets the library path. If the given path is a list of directo-
ries, the set of library modules is determined by choosing the
first module encountered while traversing the directories in the
given order, for those modules that occur in more than one di-
rectory. By default, the library path is an empty list.
The library path code_path is used by the functions m/1 and d/1,
but can also be set explicitly. Note however that the code path
will be traversed once for each used library module while set-
ting up module data. On the other hand, if there are only a few
modules that are used but not analyzed, using code_path may be
faster than setting the library path to code:get_path().
If the library path is set to code_path, the set of library mod-
ules is not determined, and the info functions will return empty
lists of library modules.
start(NameOrOptions) -> Return
Types:
NameOrOptions = Name | Options
Name = atom()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {xref_mode, mode()} | term()
Return = {ok, pid()} | {error, {already_started, pid()}}
Creates an Xref server. The process may optionally be given a
name. The default mode is functions. Options that are not recog-
nized by Xref are passed on to gen_server:start/4.
start(Name, Options) -> Return
Types:
Name = atom()
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {xref_mode, mode()} | term()
Return = {ok, pid()} | {error, {already_started, pid()}}
Creates an Xref server with a given name. The default mode is
functions. Options that are not recognized by Xref are passed on
to gen_server:start/4.
stop(Xref)
Types:
Xref = xref()
Stops an Xref server.
update(Xref [, Options]) -> {ok, Modules} | Error
Types:
Error = {error, module(), Reason}
Modules = [module()]
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = {verbose, bool()} | {warnings, bool()}
Reason = {invalid_options, term()} | {module_mismatch, mod-
ule(), ReadModule} | - see also add_module -
Xref = xref()
Replaces the module data of all analyzed modules the BEAM files
of which have been modified since last read by an add function
or update. Application membership of the modules is retained,
and so is the value of the builtins option. Returns a sorted
list of the names of the replaced modules.
variables(Xref [, Options]) -> {ok, [VariableInfo]}
Types:
Options = [Option] | Option
Option = predefined | user | {verbose, bool()}
Reason = {invalid_options, term()}
VariableInfo = {predefined, [variable()]} | {user, [vari-
able()]}
Xref = xref()
Returns a sorted lists of the names of the variables of an Xref
server. The default is to return the user variables only.
SEE ALSO
beam_lib(3erl), digraph(3erl), digraph_utils(3erl), re(3erl), TOOLS
User's Guide
Ericsson AB tools 3.4 xref(3erl)